Summer Nights
by Mcnilla
Summary: The festivities at the Northwest Estate are in full swing thanks to Dipper's intervention with the lumberjack ghost. But he didn't come out unscathed but of course Pacifica's there to help. After all, what better way to start redeeming her family name than to help the boy who saved them. A one-shot occurring later into the party. PacificaxDipper.


The evening was alive with celebration as the residents of Gravity Falls danced, drank and ate their fill at the banquet held by the Northwest Family. The Northwest Estate was in a state of upheaval as the residents couldn't contain their excitement at being let into the magnificent estate. Pacifica was dancing with the locals, for once letting loose and dropping her superior attitude. The twins (mostly Mabel) were hopeful that this could be the start of a change in the Northwest heiress, but Dipper remained skeptical. Though he had to admit, relaxed and carefree was a good look on her. Pacifica caught his eye from across the room and flashed him a smile while she waved at him. Dipper raised his glass of punch and returned the smile. Well, even if this doesn't last it was a nice change of pace to say the least.

Mabel and Dipper looked on, sipping their punch as old man Mcgucket swam around in the chocolate fountain.

"Man, I'm so glad I got my fill of that before old man Mcgucket cannonballed in there," Mabel said as the old man switched from a breast-stroke to a lazy backstroke. Dipper nodded as the twins kept watching the old man.

"Right? Also, I don't care how many creepy things we've seen his 6th finger still gives me a bit of the willies," Dipper remarked. Mabel snorted, sending the punch she just drank spewing from her nose. She quickly covered her face not just to wipe her nose but to hide her chuckles as well. Dipper rolled his eyes,

"Seriously, the willies?" Dipper asked as he laughed at Mabel's failed attempt to mask her laughter.

"How does that not make you laugh when you say it!? Haha, the willies, oh Dipper you slay me." Mabel answered, wiping a tear from her eye.

The Pines Twins were exhausted from their previous activities that night. Mabel was taking a break from too much dancing and stalking of the long haired foreigner. Meanwhile Dipper was still recovering from helping lift the curse that plagued the Northwest Family. Though Mabel was beginning to notice that her bro-bro looked a little bit on the queasy side.

"Hey Dipper, you don't look so hot. Are you ok?" Mabel inquired, genuinely worried as she placed a hand on his forehead. It was cold she noticed. Dipper tried to act casual and lean his elbow on the drinks table but miscalculated and slipped instead. Mabel caught him before he could fall.

"Thanks Mabel," Dipper chuckled weakly, "I was going to say I'm fine but maybe not. I'm just really tired from that fight with the lumberjack ghost, maybe I'll take a seat." Dipper said as he walked to an ornate chair and flopped into it. His back burned as he landed in the chair but he masked it with a raspberry.

Mabel looked on worriedly, her eyes glancing between Dipper and the door, "Maybe we should get you home…" Mabel started but before she could finish her sentence Grenda and Candy came up to them.

"He did it! He gave me his number! Check it out!" Grenda exclaimed excitedly in her unusually deep voice as she showed Mabel the piece of paper with numbers scribbled on it. Mabel jumped Grenda and squeezed her in a loving bear hug, "Ahh! That's amazing! You two are going to move into his swanky castle and have beautiful strong deep voiced children!" They all laughed, even Dipper couldn't help but chuckle.

As Dipper's laugh reached her ears, Mabel turned and remembered what she was contemplating but reading her thoughts the way siblings do Dipper waved her away, "Don't even worry about me, go enjoy the night! We won't get to be back here until – well, never." Dipper chuckled again and smiled for his sis.

Mabel knew he was putting on a brave face but before she could respond Candy said, "We should go find a phone and call him. Ohh calling a boy for the first time, this is so exciting!" Her cute Asian computer voice reaching a higher pitch the more excited she got.

"I think I remember seeing one on the second floor to the left of the stairs." Dipper suggested.

"Eeee!" The girls gleefully exclaimed as they jumped up and down, "Grenda come on let's go!" Mabel exclaimed, grabbing their hands and pulling them towards the stairs, her worry for Dipper temporarily forgotten.

Dipper watched them leave, shaking his head at their excitement, "Girls." He said to himself. Although thinking about how excited he used to get (ok fine, still got) about things Wendy did with him, Dipper decided who was he to judge.

"Good for you Grenda." Dipper said out loud, raising his hand thinking it still held his punch glass in it. He looked at his empty hand confused but didn't have the energy to care. While entertaining his inner monologue however, he failed to notice Pacifica had made her way to him.

"Excuse me?" Pacifica said, clearly irate that she had been mistaken for that aggressive brute of a girl. Dipper quickly put his hands up in apology,

"Sorry Pacifica, I didn't notice you there, I was just…never mind."

Pacifica was about to make a snappy comeback about his inattention when she noticed his pale pallor. Her eyebrows furrowed as she approached Dipper and felt his forehead, a bit cool she noticed.

"Are you alright Dipper?" Pacifica asked genuinely, "I think you need a doctor."

"A doctor? No but I do think I need some water. Also, is it hot in here?" Dipper asked as he shed his vest. He sat up and leaned over, resting his head in his hands while he focused on his breathing. His back was burning now but he needed to build up his strength before moving anymore.

"No Dipper, it's not here hot in here and neither are you. But you're sweating?" Pacifica was confused and got up to get help when she caught sight of a dark patch on Dipper's vest. She reached for it and ran her hand along it, she noticed that it definitely wasn't sweat. As she moved her hand she saw it was red,

"Dipper! You're bleeding." Pacifica quickly bolted away toward two of her butlers. Dipper tried to turn but pain ran up his side and the burning in his back intensified. He decided to reach his hand back and assess the wound as best he could. He could see Pacifica crossing the dance floor back to him with the butlers in tow, a worried look etched on her face. Dipper's hand slowly moved down his right side and tenderly probed where the pain was most intense. It felt like the wound was a couple inches across, not too deep but with all the activity going on tonight that would explain his current condition. He's surprised there wasn't blood all over the floor but then again with his vest on and the amount of mess and people here it'd be hard to tell.

Pacifica reached him and took his hand in hers, "Ok, Dipper, we're going to take you to our family's infirmary."

"You guys have your own infirmary?" Dipper asked, amazed at the things money could buy.

"Well yeah, you expect us to go to that run down attempt at health care Gravity Falls calls a clinic?" Pacifica responded flippantly. Dipper's face deadpanned and she frowned, "Sorry, old habits but yes we have one and we're going to take you there. The doctor should be able to help."

The two men firmly grabbed Dipper under the arms and helped him up. Dipper at first tried to walk up the stairs with as little help as possible but by the third step he had to be carried, each arm slung around the waists of the two men. When he was moving around the Northwest estate before he didn't really pay attention to the details but as they moved through the dizzying array of halls Dipper noted the difference in their worlds.

His halls at the shack (and even at home) were lined with family photos, knick knacks, cracks and stains. They were familiar and he knew every one by heart, it didn't matter if the shack was rundown it was home and it imprinted on him. How different he would've been had he been imprinted with gold and silver linings on the ceiling, portraits that spoke of grandeur and a rich (though fake) family legacy.

While lost in his musings, he failed to notice Pacifica worriedly walking behind him. His normally blue shirt was black with blood. How could he lose so much blood, no, how could he be in that much pain but not notice. This thought led to one much darker, how often does this happen for it to be normal for him. Pacifica realized she was biting her nails and stopped, a bad tendency she had kicked ages ago. Though it seemed to reappear in moments of distress,

"It must've been so different to grow up here." Dipper remarked lazily as he was helped along. Pacifica was about to respond but one of the butlers spoke up, "We've reached the infirmary ma'am." He announced with a slight eastern European accent.

"Cool accent, is that polish?" Dipper inquired as he was helped onto a bed, one of three in the clean white room. The butler smiled at Dipper, "It's Czech actually, but good guess."

"Ah." Dipper said as he nodded and propped himself up on his elbows to look at the Northwest Infirmary. He was lying on his stomach on a bed with medical grade sheets; the room was painted white and looked positively spotless. Dipper was impressed to say the least. He was reading a poster on the digestive system on the back of a door when said door swung open to reveal a woman out of breath. She was about 5'7" with curly black hair that was all over the place, her face looked kind but tired. She was dressed in a blue tank top and grey sweats, she quickly walked over to a coat rack that had her doctor's coat hanging from it.

"Sorry I'm late, had to put the little one to bed." The woman said as she quickly walked over to Pacifica and shook her hand. She then began tying her black hair into a ponytail.

"No problem, Dr. Sam. We actually just got here." Pacifica said politely, Dipper turned to her confused by her unusual politeness. Pacifica caught his look and scoffed, "What? You surprised I know manners?" Dipper just chuckled and shook his head, "Nah, just surprised you know how to use them."

Pacifica scowled but upon seeing his expression she relaxed and smirked, "Smart-"

"So what's the problem here Pacifica?" Dr. Sam interrupted, noticing the dark patch on the back of the boys shirt.

"Me and Dipper were attacked by a lumberjack ghost that swore eternal vengeance on my family." Pacifica answered honestly and clearly. Dipper just shook his head imagining how crazy the doctor must think the two kids were.

"Fair enough. Let's take a look." Dr. Sam responded. She got a pair of scissors and began cutting the bloody fabric. Dipper lied down completely, resting his head on his arms,

"You took that explanation pretty casually Doc. I mean we just told you we got attacked by a ghost." Dipper said, curious about the calm doctor's demeanor.

"Kid, this is Gravity Falls. I'm not some idiot, you think I don't know weird sh…" Dr. Sam cleared her throat, remembering she was talking to children, "stuff goes on in this town all the time?"

"Besides, we pay her a lot for her discretion." Pacifica added proudly.

"Mmm" Dipper said as he turned his head so that he was looking at Pacifica, "Must be handy to have a doc on retainer." Dipper replied as he closed his eyes, trying not to focus on the fact that the doctors' probing was quite painful.

"Sorry about the pain but that's a pretty nasty gash, I think it'll need a couple stitches but it should heal up fine. " The doc said as she walked over to a large cupboard and began gathering the necessary instruments.

"I hate stitches. Can I get some water first." Dipper mumbled, the blood loss making concentrating a tad difficult. Pacifica jumped up and walked to the sink, returning with a glass of water.

"Thanks."

Doctor Sam returned and prepared the wound for the stitches, she filled a syringe with some anesthetic then turned to the kids, "Alright, you ready…I'm sorry what's your name?"

"Dipper Pines." Pacifica answered for him. The Doc raised an eyebrow, "Pines huh? Interesting, well Dipper this is going to hurt so Pacifica could you give him something to squeeze or focus on." Dipper noted the doctor's interest in his surname and decided to log that away in his mind for later.

Suddenly, a hand was in his line of sight. He looked towards Pacifica and saw her face turning a light shade of red, "Here, you can hold my hand if you need to." He lazily smiled at her as he placed his hand in hers, "You hot or something Pacifica. You're looking a little flushed."

She turned her head away as she felt her face grow hotter and said to the doc, "I think he's ready."

Doctor Sam smiled to herself, "Alrighty, here we go."

As the needle went in, Dipper shoved his face into his bed squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. Pacifica almost cried out as Dipper's hand suddenly crushed hers but she stayed quiet, it wouldn't help right now.

"And we're done. Good job Dipper, you must be used to these." Doctor Sam praised as she removed the needle and pulled up a stool to begin the stitching process.

"Mfff" Dipper responded unintelligibly, face still shoved into the medical sheets. Slowly, he lifted his head back up and wiped a stray tear from his eye. He laid his head back on his arms and looked at Pacifica.

"That sucked." Dipper said, exhausted from the night.

Pacifica smiled apologetically before giving his hand a light squeeze, "I can't imagine. Sorry Dipper," She said genuinely.

Dipper smiled a bit before lightly squeezing her hand back,

"Gotta say Northwest, you sure know how to throw a party." He joked and she laughed before remembering something.

"What you said in the hallway, about growing up differently, what did you mean?" Pacifica asked. Dipper closed his eyes as he thought of his answer. He was quiet so long Pacifica thought he had passed out from exhaustion but then he opened his eyes.

"I guess I never tried to understand how you could think yourself so superior to others. I mean you're just a girl with money right?" Dipper paused, "But as I walked through your halls, I don't know, I felt like you were groomed to think you were better. I guess what I'm saying is that I judged you before having a good idea of how you grew up and who it was around." He said honestly.

Pacifica was quiet for awhile after that, turning over what Dipper said in her mind. Dipper's eyes closed again and they all waited in silence, the distant party's noise barely making it's way into the room.

"Alright, you're all done." The doctor said as she finished dressing the wound with gauze. She wrote on a prescription pad before tearing a slip and passing it to him, "You're going to want take this for the pain and to help with the healing."

Dipper slowly sat up, his chest exposed to Patricia. She was pleased to see he had some semblance of muscle and…scars. Small, but unmistakably scars. Dipper caught her looking and became flushed.

"You hot or something, Dipper?" Pacifica teased as Dipper slowly got to his feet.

"Ha-ha. You're hilarious Pacifica," Dipper responded dryly as he looked anywhere but at her, "Since you cut up my shirt is there anything I can wear?"

"I had the butlers bring you something. It's on the bed behind you." Pacifica said, pointing to the bed. Dipper turned and got dressed, being careful about his wound. The shirt was a very nice material; clearly something above his class but at least it was blue.

He turned towards the doctor and extended his hand, "Thanks a lot Doctor Sam." She took his hand with a smile and shook it, "No problem Dipper, I'll see you around town sometime. Oh, do me a favor and tell Stan I haven't forgotten what he owes me. "

He wanted to ask what his Grunkle Stan owed but he really just wanted to sleep. So he nodded and joined Pacifica at the door. Together, they began making their way towards the entrance each lost in their thoughts. As they approached the top of the stairs, Pacifica suddenly grabbed Dipper's hand. Dipper stopped and turned, curious eyes following her every move.

"I think you were right. About what you said back there, how I was raised. But it wasn't all bad you know. My parents worked hard for what they did. Sure, it wasn't always the most honest way but they did what they had to so we could be successful." She bit her lip and began speaking faster,

"And I know it was wrong of them and I'm going to do my best to clear our name but…" She paused, tears starting to well in her eyes, "What if I can't change? Now that I've seen our family's legacy is it just my destiny to become this mean frigid queen of the castle?"

"That's a possibility," Dipper answered, trying to keep up with what she was saying. Feeling like she just embarrassed herself Pacifica let go of his hand and said despondently, "The stairs are just out that door, thanks for everything tonight Dipper. See you later."

She took a step away before Dipper grabbed her hand and continued, "That is a possibility and you could follow in your parent's path and continue your family's legacy of dishonesty. However, you can also change your family's legacy. Destiny is nothing but horoscope bologna if you ask me."

At this point, Dipper turned Pacifica around and held her gaze, "Pacifica, there were queens throughout history who were beloved by their people. Your family may have raised you to be royalty but it's your choice how you use those skills to help or hinder others." Dipper took a step forward, "You can always choose your own way Pacifica."

He continued to hold her gaze so she could understand the sincerity of his message. Pacifica realized she always liked Dipper's eyes, not because they were any special color but because his gaze was always focused, intent and most of all, honest. As she continued to look into them, she felt herself grow warm and a chuckle bubbled forth that soon grew into laughter.

Dipper nervously ran his hand along the back of his neck, "Well fine jerk. Just trying to give you a pep talk but whatever."

"No, no." Pacifica took a step closer as she wiped a tear from her eye. "You're such a sap but thank you Dipper, truly." She said genuinely and before she could think about it she leaned in and kissed him.

Dipper's mind froze. A girl was kissing him. A very pretty girl was kissing him. Dipper's mind shut down but his hands gently gripped her arms as his eyes slowly slid closed. Her lips were soft and tasted slightly like her lip balm, watermelon he guessed. Pacifica pulled away, leaving Dipper with a very comical expression as his mind failed to catch on that the kiss had ended. She chuckled and flicked his forehead, "First kiss huh?"

Dipper chuckled weakly and looked at her. Pacifica lightly squeezed his hand before adding, "Me too."

They blushed but in the dim lighting neither could see it,

"Well, I should probably find Mabel and get out of here." Dipper said as he looked towards the stairs. He let go of her hand and turned towards the door that led to the stairs.

"Yea, it's pretty late and I have errands to run tomorrow. I meant what I said earlier, I'm going to redeem my family name," Pacifica said passionately and Dipper smiled at her enthusiasm. "With that attitude I don't doubt it," He replied.

Pacifica bit her lip as she watched him go, "But if I ever, you know, start to stray you'll help me find my way back right?"

Dipper turned around and looked at Pacifica. He realized how determined, fierce and surprisingly vulnerable she could be. He grabbed her hand and with a mock bow, kissed her hand and said (in his best English accent), " But of course, my Lady!"

Pacifica laughed freely and honestly for the first time in ages. It was then Dipper realized he liked her laugh.


End file.
